Telemedicine: Would You Pay for an Online Visit to the Doctor?

Well, too bad I can’t actually see any of you, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that very few of those reading this actually enjoy going to the doctor. Those that do enjoy going to the doctor might have one that they find to be very attractive. What other reason would there be to actually like making visits to the doctor, and dealing with all that it entails 🙂

Let’s face it, going to the doctor involves a number of things that are not pleasant:

You’re not feeling well (which is the reason you’re there in the first place)

You’ll have to pay for the visit via copay

If you need medicine, you’ll have to pay for that too

If there are tests or procedures that need to be done, you may have to pay for those too

You’ll have to leave home to go visit the doctor

You just might have to wait a long time at the office

While you’re in the doctor’s office, you might be exposed to other sick people too

The list can go on and on.

Admittedly, it’s way better to have access to health care than to have none. And yes, we wouldn’t be going to doctors (and they wouldn’t be making solid income) if they weren’t necessary. Thankfully we have them!

However, a few of the things on the aforementioned list of “unpleasant” things could possibly be avoided through telemedicine. Yes, this means seeing the doctor online! An article in The New Yorker discussed this alternative approach to seeing the doctor, and I found it to be an interesting concept to consider.

By seeing a doctor online, it stands to reason that you won’t need to leave home, and you won’t deal with other sick people at the doctor’s office. Perhaps you won’t have to wait a long time either, or perhaps not as long anyway. One would hope.

Would you try this?

I never have, and haven’t spoken to anyone that has either. However, I brought it up in conversation with someone who said that there is absolutely no way that he would ever do that. The reasoning he had is that this seems like an insufficient way to get an accurate diagnosis, and that it’s a way for doctors to see more patients in less time. Thus, making them more money.

My view is a bit different. I think that this might be worth it, and it could potentially work for things that can easily be diagnosed. Something more complex or involved, I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable with it. But for very simple issues, why not?

I’ve written before about how I had a less than positive customer service from a doctor, who did actually happen to be very good though at what he did. The process was painful though, as I had to wait over an hour past my appointment time after driving quite a while to get the office. Not to mention that the actual visit was incredibly short and I had very little time to ask a question.

Doctors, in my view, are customer service providers – albeit very important ones. While we might be limited in terms of choices based on insurance, we are generally free to go to doctors we feel best meet our needs. That being said, the “competition” for our service might be somewhat limited to geography.

If we could remove geography as a barrier, perhaps things get a little bit more competitive for them. Maybe this will work in our favor as customers, in terms of better service or – optimistically – downward pressure on prices that are charged. Supply and demand, right? Or, it can be as simple as just giving us a little bit more convenience in terms of not having to leave home to see the doctor, as we explored earlier. Kind of like a modern version of a house call by a physician.

Bottom line: Based on the factors and conditions I mentioned above, I would be open to considering an online doctor “visit” in the future.

My Questions for You

Have you ever seen a doctor online?

If not, under what circumstances would you be open to it?

Do you share the view that doctors are essentially customer service providers?

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Comments

This is an interesting idea. I’m not sure I’m 100% on board with it. If it’s a minor issue I have, then I could see doing this, but for anything else, I fear that I would spend my time waiting to see the doctor online, talk with them for a little while and then be told I have to come in for a visit. This is what played out for me a few months ago. I got a really bad case of food poisoning. I was going to go to urgent care but decided to go to the hospital only because I didn’t want to risk wasting my time at urgent care only to be told to go to the hospital.

I’m with you in that it would have to a minor issue, with a simple diagnosis possible. At least at this point. As far as being a waste of time, yes that wouldn’t be fun to feel that you’re saving time/money and then being roped into visiting the doctor’s office. In that case, the time-saving benefit could transform into wasted time.

I’ve never visited a doctor online, but I might take the chance if I had something that I thought wasn’t very serious. However, I can see why some people wouldn’t trust an online doctor’s diagnosis – too many illnesses have similar symptoms. Without a blood panel or some other kind of clinical exam, how would the doctor know for sure he diagnosed you correctly?

Interesting idea. I guess I’d have to hear the list of things that they’d say would qualify for an online visit versus those that might not, and also see stats on how many were resolved with the patient feeling that the online visit actually solved the visit and improved their health. I’m skeptical that the numbers would provide justification.

Depending on the issue I could see myself going to a doctor online. Like you said, some easy to diagnose issues could save a lot of time and hassle. I’ve had strep throat before, it sucks, I don’t think I necessarily need to have a doctor see me to prescribe me medicine for it. Just call it into my local pharmacy and save us both time.

I also have another situation that I’m going through right now where I wish I could do it online. I’ve seen my regular doctor for a while and he’s basically stumped with what’s going on so now I’m going to see a specialist. I know that my first consult with the specialist is going to be basically a meet and greet and we’ll schedule some tests that can’t be done on the spot. If I could cut out that first meet and greet visit I would be stoked. Having to take a few hours off of work to get to the doctor when you know that you’re just going to schedule a different time to see the doctor is pretty pointless in my opinion.

I agree that doctors do provide a service, but I think that the way that technology is changing they should evolve too. Not everything requires in person encounters.

Now that I’m thinking about this more, couldn’t you see a therapist through an online chat? It’s not like your psychiatrist is physically examining you, they ask you questions, judge your well being and sometimes they decide that medications are the best route.

Now I think I’m talking myself into “Why aren’t more doctors available online.” I wouldn’t doubt if one day we look back and find it silly that we didn’t do them sooner.

Sounds like a great idea to me. A doctor that specializes in simple easy to diagnose illnesses could work from home and not have to have an office. The doctor could interview the patient quickly and either make a diagnosis or advise the patient to go see another doctor for a more in depth examination.

Sounds to me like the kind of cost cutting solution that would help the health care crisis we are currently in.

Depends on the problem but most likely would not. If you are showing cold-like symptoms you could have a bacterial infection or viral, it is very hard to distinguish between the two without additional tests that have to be performed in the office.

It would have to be a very general or simple diagnosis for me to try this. Who knows, maybe there could one day be quick, inexpensive technology that might allow testing at home and transmission of data from home? We’re not there yet, at least as far as I know!

Very nice post. A physician that focuses primarily on simple easy to identify diseases could work from home and not have to have an office. The physician could interview the individual quickly and either make a analysis or advise the individual to go see another physician for a more detailed evaluation. Thanks for sharing.

I have never seen a doctor online, although I do email my doctors with questions every now and then. Since I have cancer, I see my oncologist fairly regularly. I saw her just last week as a matter of fact. It seems to me that if a doctor could make a good diagnosis over the internet, and prescribe proper medication, or chicken soup, or some such, this would be a good thing. I think most doctors would be afraid of the liability of making a diagnosis without actually having a patient visit, though.

I think I’ve seen recently that Dr. Phil and his son have something out about this. I’ve been putting off making a doctor’s appointment for a physical for a while because I just can’t be bothered. I would not be able to do anything on line for this anyways. I think if it is just for standard prescription refills it might be okay, but sometimes the doctor wants to see the person face to face to assess if they are doing okay or not (mental health issues). However, even F2F, people can disguise a lot if they want to. It’s really not the doctor’s problem if the patient is not willing to be up front.

I would and I have – It worked great for my family. most common illness’s now can be diagnosed with just a phone call to the the doctor – sinus conditions, flue etc. I had an issue recently where my son had a fever, swollen throat glands and just feeling bad. I use a service I found at http://icalladoctor.net/ in which after joining I call a doctor and get a diagnosis and get his proscription sent to my pharmacy. Very minimal membership cost. He did not have to miss school. I have access to a doctor 24/7. With 4 kids it’s a great asset – saving us money and time.

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